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Evangelical Leaders Stand Against Fear and Bigotry

While innocent people lose hope and perhaps their lives, a majority of American Christians oppose refugee resettlement here. However, another hallelujah moment has come in the struggle for justice. One hundred evangelical leaders have signed a statement decrying 45’s refugee ban. CNN reports the statement will appear as an advertisement in tomorrow’s Washington Post. Congratulations to these leaders who recognize the consistent Biblical call to treat the foreigner and stranger with fairness and justice. And some if not all of them well remember Joseph, Mary and Jesus were refugees who fled to Egypt, something many Christians do not.

The specious argument 45 uses in support of the refugee ban is that our country receiving these refugees increases the threat of terrorist attacks on our soil. Nonsense. There is no evidence support his argument. In fact, the libertarian (and Koch-funded) Cato Institute issued a recent report concluding the chance of an American being murdered in a terrorist attack caused by a refugee is 1 in 3.64 billion per year. The same report concluded the chance of an American being murdered in an attack committed by an illegal immigrant is even higher—10. 9 billion per year. World Relief also reported that over 3 million refugees have settled in the United States since 1980 and not one American life has been lost in any attack by those refugees.

Refugees are simply folks like you and me who flee their homes to save their lives. They need help and not bans. 45’s order flies in the face of Christian compassion and fact. Of course, we cannot accuse the man of being steeped in either.